Gators struggled in opener last season; Cardinals will be under microscope

Leave it to Jon Halapio to explain what everyone has been thinking since last January: Florida didn’t care in the Sugar Bowl.

“I don’t know why because the coaches had us prepared,” says Halapio, the Gators’ senior guard. “We’ve had a problem of not playing with consistency; of not playing the same way against every team no matter what the circumstances are. That has to be fixed this season.”

The entire season—not just the season opener—will be a mental grind for Louisville, the sudden sleeper darling of nearly everyone with a poll vote.

Let me remind everyone that Louisville lost to UConn in overtime last season, and got smoked by Syracuse. Were it not for a truly awful call of illegal man downfield against Rutgers in the regular season finale, the Cardinals would’ve lost that game, too (the Big East later admitted the call that negated a Rutgers touchdown was wrong.).

So what’s the reason for this entire Louisville offseason lovefest, you ask? The Cardinals beat a team in the Sugar Bowl (Florida) that has a history of playing down to competition.

Then there’s Ohio, a tough and physical team that began last season by winning at Penn State. A team with a dangerous dual-threat quarterback (Tyler Tettleton), and a team that has played in more difficult environments than Papa John’s Stadium (Ohio Stadium, Neyland Stadium, Beaver Stadium) and performed well.

You’ve seen these before: NC State, Boston College, USF, Colorado. They all look the same.

A more talented FSU team rolls into town and plays uninspired ball for three quarters before turning it on in the fourth quarter. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Now add to the mix a new FSU quarterback (Jameis Winston) who hasn’t taken a career snap but already has huge expectations, a new, first-time FSU defensive coordinator (Jeremy Pruitt), and a Pitt defense that returns nine starters from a unit that was clearly the strength of last year’s team.

If Pitt coach Paul Chryst can get Tom Savage (Rutgers, Arizona) to play like he did as a freshman, this grinder of a game could turn into Pitt’s first ACC victory—as the Monday night primetime game of Labor Day weekend.

A bad set of circumstances all around for an FSU team that has lost five games under Jimbo Fisher as double-digit favorites.

The Huskies should have won last year’s game in Chicago, and by the end of the season they were a significantly better team than Iowa.

NIU didn’t look close to the same team in the Orange Bowl without coach Dave Doeren, who had already left for NC State. But new coach Rod Carey has this going for him: QB Jordan Lynch will (again) be the best player on the field.

And frankly, what does Iowa do that screams consistency? A new quarterback, and a team that has a recent history of playing poorly against mid-major or FCS teams (NIU, Northern Iowa, Arkansas State).

The Hawkeyes lost six straight to end last year, and have lost 11 of their last 16 games—while playing in a conference that had a distinct downturn the last two seasons.

The Hilltoppers beat Kentucky last year in overtime at Lexington, Ky., and get a return game this fall in Nashville. Watch how well junior QB Brandon Doughty plays under new coach Bobby Petrino, who begins his comeback—after his ugly exit from Arkansas—with a talented team that could win every game this fall.

Petrino has the Sun Belt’s best player (running back Antonio Andrews) and the league’s best defensive player (linebacker Andrew Jackson). You better believe Petrino has pointed to this game as a statement moment—not only for his talented team, but for himself in a return to coaching.

For all the positive vibes new coach Mark Stoops has brought to UK, the reality is this team is still a long way away from competing in the SEC with its current personnel.